From inland vigour to coastal caution: contrasting germination strategies of a tropical hydrochoric bromeliad

Author(s)

Chaves, Cleber Juliano Neves ; Lemos-Silva, Isabella Vasques ; Tavares, Danilo Ulbrich ; Aecyo, Paulo ; Vilela-Bianchini, Henrique M. ; de Carvalho, Camila Carolina ; Ribeiro, Rafael Vasconcelos ; Escobar-Escobar, Diego ; Palma-Silva, Clarisse

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society; v. N/A, p. 8-pg., 2025-10-15.

Abstract

Distinct environmental factors can drive divergent selection, shaping contrasting ecological strategies across populations. Coastal habitats characterized by extreme abiotic conditions, such as high salinity and low water availability, impose intense selective pressures on plants. By contrast, inland tropical environments with species-rich communities, due to abundant freshwater availability, favour traits associated with rapid seedling establishment. Here, we investigate the germination and seedling performance of Pitcairnia flammea, an endemic tropical bromeliad with a potential hydrochoric dispersal, across coastal and inland populations. Our results reveal that inland populations exhibit rapid and consistent germination across water availability gradients, reflecting a potential competitive strategy in freshwater-rich riparian environments. Conversely, coastal populations display delayed germination and reduced success under drought and saline conditions, suggesting an avoidance strategy to mitigate abiotic stress. Floating seeds demonstrated enhanced germinability and reduced mortality, highlighting hydrochory as a central dispersal strategy under both freshwater and saline conditions. These findings offer novel insights into the adaptive significance of germination strategies in bromeliads, highlighting the dual roles of abiotic filters in shaping coastal populations and competitive strategies in inland populations. Our study highlights the effect of both abiotic and biotic pressures on shaping the divergent selection of tropical populations distributed across environmental gradients. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 24/08569-7 - Functional convergence of plant communities coexisting with Pitcairnia flammea Lindl. populations across an elevation gradient in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Cleber Juliano Neves Chaves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 22/07480-7 - Ecological genomics of local adaptation and speciation of bromeliads from neotropical mountains
• Grantee: Clarisse Palma da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 20/14805-4 - Effect of altitudinal thermal gradient on the adaptive convergence of communities and local adaptation of Pitcairnia flammea Lindl
• Grantee: Cleber Juliano Neves Chaves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 21/10639-5 - Center for Research on Biodiversity Dynamics and Climate Change
• Grantee: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC
• FAPESP's process: 24/01417-7 - Speciation and Diversification of Pitcairnia (Bromeliaceae) in the Mountains of Southeast Brazil
• Grantee: Clarisse Palma da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants